Jimmy Dawkins (1936-2013)

Jimmy Dawkins, one of the last of the '60s generation of bluesmen from the West Side of Chicago, died on Wednesday, April 10 of an unannounced illness at age 76.

Jimmy Dawkins was born in Tchula, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast, on October 24, 1936. He taught himself to play the guitar, and migrated to Chicago in 1955. While working as a laborer, he gradually became part of the West Side blues scene, first as a sideman, then as a leader. His big break came in 1969, when his friend Magic Sam introduced him to Bob Koester of Delmark records. The resulting album, Fast Fingers, was a critical success and won the Grand Prix du Disque—best album of the year—from the Hot Club de France. Here's a selection, “It Serves Me Right to Suffer.”

Dawkins was known more for his guitar playing than his singing. In fact, on his second Delmark album, All For Business, he let Andrew “Big Voice” Odom do most of the vocals. This song, "Welfare Line," is from his third Delmark album, Blisterstring.

His nickname, “Fast Fingers,” was not particularly appropriate. He was known for his brooding lyrics and his intense, stinging, and aggressive style of playing. His songs sometimes dealt with social and political concerns. On stage, he was quiet and businesslike, never flashy. Like many blues musicians, he was popular in Europe and Japan and toured internationally. Here's a 52-minute clip from the Skopje (Macedonia) Jazz Festival in 1991. The songs are familiar standards. Alternatively, you can type in “Dawkins” and “Skopje” at You Tube and pick your favorite song(s).

In all, Jimmy Dawkins recorded about 21 albums for a variety of labels. His 1992 Earwig release, Kant Sheck Dees Bluze, is usually regarded as the best of his post-Delmark CDs. (His use of phonetic spelling was a form of protest against the establishment.) Here's a 1997 Dawkins release, “Me, My Gitar and the Blues.”

During his later years, Dawkins started his own record label, Leric, and worked accompanying, producing and promoting upcoming musicians such as Nora Jean Wallace and Taildragger. Some one these performances are available on the 2010 Delmark CD The Leric Story. 

With the recent death of Magic Slim and now Jimmy Dawkins, very few of the second generation of Chicago bluesmen are still around. Magic Sam, Luther Allison, Junior Wells and Carey Bell have all passed away. Otis Rush and Eddie C. Campbell are unable to perform due to illness. That leaves Buddy Guy and Eddy Clearwater as the main representatives of this cohort who are still performing regularly.

Eddie C. Campbell

As you may know, West Side bluesman suffered a heart attack and stroke while on tour in Germany. He is paralyzed on his right side. To the best of my knowledge, he is still marooned in Germany, and family and friends are soliciting donations to bring him home. More information is available at this website.